CURRENT ISSUE

April/May 2020

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Features

Vera C. Rubin Observatory at sunset

Universe the Movie

Forget still pictures. This giant new observatory will make astronomy videos.

747

Recovery From a Deep Stall

Lyle Prouse was trained to maintain control in the air, but he had to learn to do it in life.

drawing of people in regency clothing watching a balloon flight

The Mysterious Madame Johnson

Not long after the first aeronauts arrived in the New World from France, a woman took to the skies. Who was she?

 F-15E Strike Eagle

The Shocking Resurrection of the F-15

Who says you can’t teach an old eagle new tricks?

boulders on Bennu

Touch-and-Go on an Asteroid

A spacecraft is on its way to fetch souvenirs from the birth of the solar system.

flight Lieutenant Neville Bowker and plane with shark art

When the Shark Bites

The Curtiss P-40 was not the first to wear that wicked grin.

Charles Carpenter with plane

Bazooka Charlie’s Grasshopper

The most famous small airplane of World War II is about to fly again.

Hermann Göring’s speech in the Air Ministry

World War II’s Strangest Bombing Mission

The RAF knew how to cut the power on propaganda.

Departments

Viewport

Less Told Tales of World War II

From the Director of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum

Up to Speed

Midway Memorial

A replica of the Douglas Devastator, made for the movie Midway, looks like it could have flown the historic mission.

Up to Speed

Command and Control at Sea

Aircraft carriers are being readied for next-generation warfare that relies on unmanned aerial vehicles.

I Was There

When Apollo Went to Japan

At Expo ’70, I was the happy ambassador for the U.S. Space program.

At the Museum

How Do You Move a Six-Story Mural?

Slowly, one panel at a time.

At the Museum

Transformation and Revitalization Behind-the-Scenes

Protecting precious artifacts during a multi-year renovation.

Interview

What Really Happened in Korea

It was a long, hard fight for both the communist and United Nations jet pilots who battled for the right to rule MiG alley.